Mobile Marketing Best Practices 2010

There’s been a lot of chatter about mobile marketing but little movement. That is, until you consider that today, the majority of mobile carriers are offering flat-rate data plans leveraging 3G and 4G bandwidth and the vast majority of users never leave home without their sensor-rich, wireless web-ready, palm-top computers that also happen to make phone calls.

Experts agree, 2010 will be the year the mobile web gets its wings. Which is great for consumers, but what does it mean to marketers? It means rethinking what’s possible.

The Mobile Market Landscape

According to ABI Research, mobile marketing revenue is expected to reach $24 billion by 2013.  Other studies speculate there are 4 times as many mobile phone users as desktop users, and that mobile advertising has 8 to 10 times higher click-through rates (CTR) than traditional online advertising.

Further evidence that 2010 will be the year can be found in the actions of some pretty big technology names. Google just reported its $750 million acquisition of mobile advertising provider, AdMob and Apple just purchased Quattro Wireless. This puts both companies in a good position to spur growth in the mobile advertising market.

Benefits of Mobile Marketing

One of the main appeals of mobile marketing is leveraging these sensor-rich, portable devices along with their location-based GPS features. However, what really interests marketers is users’ attachment to these devices. According to research by Morgan Stanley, 91% of mobile phone users had their phone close to them 24 hours a day. Not to mention that their phones were always on.
No other marketing medium in the world can make a claim like that.

Mobile Marketing Technology & Best Practices

There are lots of ways to reach a mobile audience including: Text Messaging (SMS); Multimedia Messaging (MMS); Bluetooth, Wireless & Infrared; Mobile Applications (Apps); Mobile-Friendly Website; 2D Barcodes; etc.

Each medium has its own technical limitations and etiquette. By etiquette, what we mean is that by using this very personal medium to convey a marketing message, we must be very careful not to damage the Brand by invading personal space. So all mobile marketing must be strictly opt-in or, at least, in response to some action (such as a follow-up text).

Text Messaging (SMS)

The “Short Message Service” or SMS is more commonly referred to as “text messaging” or “texting” and it’s by far the most common use of mobile phones—rivaling, in fact, their use as a phone. Ever since “American Idol” pioneered this marketing medium by allowing viewers to cast their vote for their favorite contestant via text, this mobile marketing medium has grown in popularity. Researchers estimate that 60% to 70% of today’s mobile marketers leverage this service to convey their message.

Some of the limitations of this medium is how short (less than 160 characters in length) the message must be as well as the lack of adequate opt-in lists available for marketers to use. After all, when was the last time you included a “mobile phone number” field on one of your sign up forms?

Multimedia Messaging (MMS)

With far more features than SMS texts, MMS allows the use of rich media like pictures, video and audio attachments. With newer and more feature-rich phones hitting the market, MMS may some day replace SMS technology altogether.

For now, however, SMS is still king. With many users still on variable rate data plans, marketers should avoid sending marketing messages via MMS—at least for 2010.

Mobile Applications (Apps) V.S. Mobile Websites

When it comes to mobile sites, there are two schools of thought. Should we have the user visit our mobile website, let the browser download the code, process it and display; or have the user download an application, install it and when it runs, query an online database to populate the page with the right information? Fundamentally, the difference is device-specific software versus non-specific, standardized code.

Mobile applications or “Apps” are actually software that must be developed (like any other kind of software) to be platform-specific. Applications developed for the iPhone will not install and work on a Blackberry, for example. In the days of slow wireless networks, Apps were an absolute necessity to offer users fast, reliable access and to leverage the full capability of their sensor-rich device. Imagine if that was still the case for today’s desktop websites. Who, today, would download and install the number of desktop applications the average teen downloads to their iPhone from the App Store?!

In 2010, wireless networks are increasing their bandwidth at an astonishing rate. Soon, mobile websites will eclipse mobile apps as they are easier (and cheaper) to develop and they are not device-specific.

If mobile marketers want to get ahead of the curve, they should begin to develop mobile websites (rather than Apps) that require minimum client-side processing power while still delivering a high-quality user experience. If you’re having trouble striking this balance, don’t worry too much. Processing power and bandwidth will quickly catch up with your vision.

Also, don’t get too sucked into the DotMobi craze. Search engines already don’t care what the domain suffix is. Google’s own mobile website is http://m.Google.com (a subdomain). All you have to do technically is declare your mobile website as a mobile site in the DOCTYPE {see the following mobile DOCTYPE example} and code with mobile in mind.

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//WAPFORUM//DTD XHTML Mobile 1.0//EN” “http://www.wapforum.org/DTD/xhtml-mobile10.dtd”>

Once you’ve got your shiny-new mobile site up and running, be sure to develop a mobile detector and place it in on the desktop version of the site. That way, you’ll be able to redirect mobile visitors to the mobile site.

UPDATE: Mobile Web VS Mobile App Development

2D Barcodes (QR Codes)

2D barcodes, like the ones pictures on the right, promise to serve as shortcuts between the digital and physical world. Users may come across these codes printed on a T-shirt, Branded food tray, tattooed onto someone’s head (If lost, please call…), etc. To read them, they simply need a mobile phone with an auto-focus camera to scan the barcode and display (a link, a message, whatever). That’s the idea, anyway.

According to recent research, 2D barcodes are popular in Japan (50 million users and growing), but the U.S. is slow to catch on despite major publications (like the Economist and Sports Illustrated) using them to link off-line readers to additional, online content.

In 2010, mobile marketers will want to experiment with 2D barcodes, but it won’t grow in popularity this year. JDM recently conducted an experiment printing 2D barcodes on T-shirts before recommending it to a client. The result was that the bar code is unable to be scanned 68% of the time when worn and only 86% of the time when laying flat on the table. This marketing medium will most likely remain a curiosity rather than the future of mobile marketing as a whole.

UPDATE: QR Codes Gone too Far?

2010 and the Future of Mobile Marketing

We’ve discussed a lot about the mobile market, the technologies, the best practices and the limitations to look out for. We’ve also dispelled a few rumors about mobile Apps and 2D barcodes.

The takeaway for marketers in 2010 is that the mobile revolution is not coming—its here. Like the early years of online marketing, those willing to take a chance and experiment will break free of the clutter and capitalize.